Conveyer



D. s. PARKER CONVEYER Oct. 25, 1938.

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 26. 1

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ATTORNEY D. S. PARKER Oct. 25, 1938.

CONVEYER Filed Aug. 26, 1956 '5 Sheets-Sheet 2 HVI/[NTOR .asPA/wrm 8y ATTOR/VfY" Oct. 25, 1933. D PARKER 2,134,373

- CONVEYER I Filed Aug. 26, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 5/4. Maw

Patented Oct. 25, 1938 UNITED STATES.

CONVEYER Douglas S. Parker, Verdun, Quebec, Canada, as-

signor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 26, 1936, Serial No. 97,902

12 Claims. (Cl. 193-35) This invention relates to conveyers, and more particularly to control mechanism for gravity conveyors.

It is an object of. the present invention to.

5 provide a more efflcient and effective conveyer mechanism.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an anti-friction roller type gravity conveyer is provided with a set of electromagl netically operated brakes for retarding the movement of some of the rollers upon the passage over other rollers of an article being conveyed, to prevent the articles being conveyed from traveling too rapidly and crashing into one l another.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by reference to the following detailed specification, when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view of an anti-friction roller typeof conveyer provided with a decelerating or braking apparatus constituting-the subject-matter of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows and having schematically shown therewith the circuit diagram for controlling the operation of the electromagnets;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the details of the electromagnets and their supporting structure;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the details shown in Fig. .3; I

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a conveyer equipped with a braking apparatus in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 in the direction of the arrows, and including a diagrammatic show-- ing of the control circuit used in this embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevational view oi part of the details shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an end elevational view of the details such that articles placed on anti-friction mn'ers 13 of a conventional type suspended between the angle irons wil1 move by gravity toward the lower or left end (Fig. 2) of the conveyer. A brake controlling roller ll similar to the rollers I3 is resiliently mounted upon a pair of springs l5 which normally hold it up-out oi the plane of the other rollers. Each of the springs [5 has secured thereto, as shown in Fig. 2, a member l6 of insulating material adapted to cooperate with the upper one of a pair of contact springs I1 and I8, and when an article passes over the roller it it will be depressed against the energy stored in the spring l5 to close the contacts I! and I8, thereby to connect grounded battery at l9 to one side of a winding 20 of a release relay 2|. The other side of the winding 20 is connected through a suitable resistance 22 to ground at 23. Closure of the contacts I! and It! will also connect grounded battery over a branch circuit to the winding of a time delay. relay 24 of the dash pot type, the other side of the winding of which is connected to ground'at 25. As'the winding 20' of the release relay is energized, the relay will operate to connect grounded battery at 26 through a contact 21 of the release relay to the winding 20, thereby to hold the release relay energized. Simultaneously grounded battery at 26 will be connected through contact 28 associated with the release relay 2| to one side of the winding of a power relay 29, the other side of the winding of which is connected to ground at 33. The energization of the power relay 29 will close its contacts 3| to complete a circuit from one side of a volt D. 0. line through the winding of a pair of electromagnets 32 in series to the other side of the 110 volt D. 0. line.

The electromagnets 32, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, are mounted upon opposite ends of a U- shaped bracket 33 of magnetic iron and the two magnet coils, together with their cores, and the bracket 33, form a horseshoe type of magnet electromagnetically energized. The brackets 33 are mounted in a channel member 34 strapped to cross members 35 secured to the underside of the angle irons II and I2. The brackets 33 are normally held seated in the base of the channel iron 34 by means of a nut and bolt assembly 31 passed through the bracket and base of the channel and having cooperating therewith a compression spring" 38. The adjacent roller I3 is made of or contains magnetic material and --upon energization of the electromagnets 32, the

magnetic pull will overcome the tension of spring 38 and the bracket and electromagnets will move upwardly to bring the poles of the electromagnets into engagement with the'under surface of the roller it. Since the electromagnets 22 engage the rollers ,II, the magnets andtheir sup-' porting brackets will tend to turn with thevrollers, and asa result will be tilted and wedged between the rollers and the channel members 24,

thereby applying a braking eii'ect in excess oi that which themagnets would apply it they were not mounted in a manner such that they would tilt.' The electromagnets as shown in Fig. 1 are mounted adjacent to the opposite ends oi adjacent rollers IS.

In the embodiment of the invention just described, an article in passing down the conveyer, will, after passing over the rollers I! with which the electromagnets 32 are associated, strike the brake controlling roller I4, thereby depressing it and momentarily completing a circuit through the contact springs I1 and II controlled by the roller I 4. This momentary circu it closure will energize the winding 20 of the release relay 2|, which will thereupon attract its armatures to complete circuits through contacts 21 and 28, thereby locking the release relay operated to hold energizedthe power relay 25, which will in turn close its contacts 3i to supply 110 volt D. C. to the electromagnets 32. The electromagnets 32 will remain energized until the time delay relay has operated fully, at which time it will close its contacts 40 to complete a circuit from grounded battery at 4! through a suitable resistance 42, and a second winding 43 of the relay 2|, which opposes the winding 25 of the release relay, and to ground at 44. The current flowing through the winding 42 of the release relay is sumcient to negative the pull of the winding 20, thereby opening the contacts 21 and 28 to break the circuit to the power relay 29, thereby releasing the electromagnets 22.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention as illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, '7 and 8, a conveyer having a supporting framework comprised of angle irons and 5| similar to the angle irons II and I2, supports a plurality of anti-friction rollers 52 in an inclined plane so that an article placed upon the rollers will travel down the conveyer to the left (Figs. 5 and 6) by ravity.

The angle irons 50 and 5| have secured thereto bent brackets or straps 52 which support the channel members 54 in an inverted position above the rollers. Resiliently mounted upon the channel members 54 are a plurality of electromagnets 55 similar to the electromagnets 32. It will be noted, however, that the electromagnets 55 are mounted above the rollers 52, whereas the electromagnets 32 were mounted below the rollers I3, and the resilient support for the electromagnets 55, while similar to the resilient support for the electromagnets 22, tends to hold a bracket 56 or magnetic materiaL'which supports the electromagnets 55, into the channel of the channel member and is in the form of a nut and bolt assembly 51 and a compression spring 55. Upon energization of the electromagnets 55 a magnetic field will be set up between the adjacent pole pieces 01' the electromagnets 55 which will cooperate with the magnetic material in the roller 52 to draw the bracket and electromagnets downwardly into engagement with the roller 52. When the electromagnets 55 engage the rollers 52, the electromagnets will tend to turn with the rollers and will become wedged between the rollers and the channel 54.

Since the channel 54 is mounted above the v rollers a guard plate 59 has been provided adpleting an electrical circuit through a pair of contactsgil and 52. These contacts, upon their closure, will complete an electrical circuit in the same manner as did the contacts I! and iii in the first described embodiment of the invention. The circuits which they control are difierent in that a contact 53 under control of the release relay will, upon its closure, complete a circuit to a clock motor of conventional type indicated by the numeral 64 and adapted to drive a contact cam 65 for intermittently closing a pair 01' contacts 55 to complete a circuit to a power relay 61 similar to the power relay 2!], thereby to energize the electromagnets 55 intermittently during the time when the time delay relay circuit is completed and before the time delay relay closes its contacts.

In the just described embodiment oi the invennection with the first embodiment of the invention, and the release relay, upon energization, will complete a circuit to the clock motor 54.

Any articles traveling over the conveyer after the first article will be momentarily stopped by the rollers controlled by the electromagnets 55 when they reach these rollers, and will then be permitted to move down the conveyer when the motor driven cam 65 breaks the circuit at the contact 85. This momentary stopping of the articles will continue until the time delay relay closes its contacts and articles which would otherwise tend to accelerate in their travel down the conveyer would be momentarily stopped until the time delay relay operates to cause the opening of the circuit through contact 63 by energizing the second winding of the release relay, whereupon the next article passing down the conveyer, upon striking the brake controlling roller, will initiate another cycle of braking operations under control of the clock motor 64.

An alternative form of circuit for controlling the electromagnets 82 or 55 is shown in Fig. 9, wherein the brake controlling roller l4, upon being moved downwardly, will close a pair of contacts 10 to connect grounded battery at H to one side of the winding 01' a relay 12, the other side of the winding of which is connected to the plate or anode of a vacuum tube 13. A branch circuit will also become effective at this time to complete a circuit from grounded battery at H through the contacts 10 and through a winding 14 of a release relay 15 to ground at 16, thereby energizing the relay l5 and closing its contacts 11 and I8. Closure of contacts 'I'l will provide a locking circuit for the release relay from grounded battery at 19 through the contacts I! and winding 14 to ground at 16. This locking circuit will be maintained and grounded battery at 19 will be supplied to the winding of a power relay 8|, the other side of the winding of which is connected to ground at 52 until an opposed winding oi. 76

- 13 is connected through a resistance 86 to ground at 85, the grid of the tube is connected through a condenser 89 to an adjustable tap 81 on the resistance 86, and a resistance 98 is connected between the grid and the lead from the filament to the resistance 85. With these circuit conditions, grounded battery at 19 being connected through the winding of relay 12 to the plate of the tube in the manner heretofore described, the plate of the tube will be made positive with respect to the filament and plate current will fiow through the resistance 88 to create a potential difference between the filament and the adjustable tap 81 of the resistance 88, the filament being positive with respect to the adjustable tap. This potential difierence will be impressed across the condenser 89 and the resistance 98 in series and will cause current to fiow through the resistance 98 to the condenser until it has become charged. The current through the resistance 98 at first renders the grid negative with respect to the filament, thereby reducing the plate current to a value too low to operate the relay 12. When the condenser becomes charged the potential of the grid is brought to the same value as the potential of the filament, whereupon the .plate current will attain sufiicient value to operate the relay '12. The operation of relay 12 will close a circuit to the winding 88 of the relay 15, causing the relay 15 to open its contacts 11 and '18, thereby to release relay BI and reset the circuit. It will be understood that the length of time elapsing between the closing of the contact 18 and the operation of relay 12 will depend upon the value of the resistances 98 and 86, the capacity of the condenser 89 and the position of the tap 81.

In some instances it may be desirable to operate the braking mechanism of the conveyer with alternating current and in such case a slightly modified circuit is provided wherein the brake controlling roller l4 upon operation by an article passing over it will move a contact spring I88 into engagement with a contact spring I8I connected to one side I82 of a 110 volt alternating current line. The contact spring I88 is connected to one side of the winding of an alternating current relay I83, the other side of the winding of which is connected to the other side I84 of the 110 volt alternating currentline. Therefore, when the spring I88 engages the spring IN the alternating current relay I83 will be energized momentarily to close its contacts I85 which will complete a circuit from the I82 side of the alternating current line through the primary winding of a transformer in v a conventional typeof rectifier system I88, to the I84 side of the alternating current line. As soon as the alternating current relay I83 is energized the rectifier I86 will become effective to supply 110 volt direct current to the windings of the elec- 7| ing current line.

.A time delay relay 8 of the dash pot type is also connected to the output side of the rectifier I88 and will start to operate as soon as the rectifier begins to function. This relay will pull .up slowly and after a predetermined time will close its contacts I II to complete a circuit from one side of the output of the rectifier I88 to a winding I I2 of the release relay I88 and back to the other side of the output of the rectifier. y. The winding ll2opposes the winding I81 and when the contacts I I I close the contacts I89 will open to break the locking circuit for the alternating current relay I83 thereby to disconnect the 118 volt alternating current from the rectifier to release the electromagnets 32 and relays I88 and 8.

Although the embodiment of the invention wherein the clock motor controlled intermittent braking of the rollers has been disclosed in conjunction with the arrangement wherein the braking electromagnets are positioned above the rollers, it will be understood that any of the four circuits disclosed or modifications thereof might be used with either of the two arrangements of electromagnets. Furthermore, although the braking is shown in connection with only one set of adjacent rollers, it will be understood that one brake controlling roller could control electromagnetically operated brakes positioned at spaced intervals in a conveyer or that a plurality of brake controlling rollers might be provided for controlling separate groups of rollers having braking electromagnets associated with them. It is usually preferable to arrange the controlling roller in advance of the brake controlled rollers, as shown, or at least in advance of some of them.

In oneparticular embodiment of the invention it was found satisfactory in a 208 foot conveyer to employ four units each comprising six rollers, three of the units being spaced 10 feet apart and placed above the trip roller while one unit was placed approximately 50 feet below the trip roller. The latter unit checks the speed of any fast moving heavy parcels travelling in a group of three or four which were not checked by the brakes above the trip roller. All of the brake coils are wired in a single circuit each two being in series across a 110 volt direct current line and the whole device consuming 500 watts when operating.

What is claimed is: a

l. A gravity conveyer including a plurality of antiefriction rollers, braking means for cooperating with predetermined ones of said rollers, and means operable by an article moving over said conveyer for holding said braking means operated for a predetermined time after the article has moved past said last mentioned means.

2. In a gravity conveyer, spacing mechanism including brakes for retarding the operation of said conveyer at spaced portions thereof, brake controlling means operable momentarily by an article passing over a portion of said conveyer, and means controlled by the brake controlling means for holding the brakes operated for a predetermined time after they are momentarily operated.

3. An automatic retarder fora gravity conveyer comprising a plurality of brake mechanisms, a

control circuit for said brake mechanisms, means actuated by an article on the conveyer for initiating the operation of said control circuit, and means in saidv circuit for holding the brakes operated for a predetermined time after the operation of the circuit has been initiated.

4. An automatic retarder for a gravity conveyer comprising means responsive to the passage of an article over a predetermined portion of the conveyer for initiating a retarding operation, an electrically, controlled brake for retarding operation of portions of the conveyer, and'a circuit controlled by the means for initiating retarding operations for causing the brake to operate intermittently a predetermined length of time.

5. An automatic retarder for a gravity con eyer comprising means responsive to the passage of an article ,over a predetermined portion of the conveyer for initiating a retarding operation, an electrically controlled brake for retarding operation of portions of the conveyer, and a circuit controlled by the means for initiating retarding operations for causing the brake to operate a predetermined number of times during a predetermined interval of time.

6. In a retarder for gravity conveyers, braking means for retarding operation of the conveyer at predetermined portions thereof, and means for controlling the braking means including contact makingmeans operated by an article passing over the conveyer, a brake operating circuit controlled by said contact making means for operating the braking means, and means for holding said circuit operated after the contact making means is no longer operated by the article.

7. In a retarder for gravity conveyers, braking means for retarding operation of the conveyer at predetermined positions thereof, means for controlling the braking means including contact making means operated by an article passing a predetermined position on the conveyer, a braking circuit for controlling the braking means and originally energized by said contact making means, and means for holding said braking circuit energized for a predetermined time after the article has passed said predetermined position.

8. In a retarder for gravity conveyers, braking means for retarding operation of the conveyer at predetermined positions thereof, means for controlling the braking means including contact making means operated by an article passing a predetermined position on the conveyer, a braking circuit for controlling the braking means and originally energized by said contact making means, means for holding said braking circuit energized, and a time delay device for releasing the holding means after a predetermined time.

9. In a retarder for gravity conveyers, braking means for retarding operation of the conveyer at predetermined positions thereof, means for controlling the braking means, contact making means operated by an article passing a predetermined position on the conveyer, a circuit energized by said contact making means for operating the brake controlling means, means for holding said circuit energized, and means for releasing said holding means after a predetermined time.

10. In a retarder for gravity conveyers, braking means for retarding operation of the conveyer at predetermined positions thereof; means for controlling the braking means, contact making means operated by an article passing a predetermined position on the conveyer, a circuit energized by said contact making means for operating the brake controlling means, means for holding said circuit energized, and means for releasing said holding means after a predetermined time including a slow acting relay.

11. In a retarder for gravity conveyers, braking means for retarding operation of the conveyer at predetermined positions thereof, means for controlling the braking means, contact making means operated by an article passing a predetermined position on the conveyer, a circuit energized by said contact making means for operating the brake controlling means, means for holding said circuit energized, and means for releasing said holding means after a predetermined time including a slow acting electrical means the operation of which is initiated by the contact making means.

12. In a retarder for gravity conveyers, braking means for retarding operation of the conveyer at predetermined positions thereof, means for controlling the braking means, contact making means operated by an article passing a predetermined position on the conveyer, a circuit energized by said contact making means for operating the brake controlling means, means for holding said circuit energized, and means for releasing said holding means after a predetermined time including a slow acting electrical'means the. operation of which is initiated by the con tact making means and held operated by the holding means.

DOUGLAS S. PARKER. 

